Mission

Through teaching, writing and workshops
Alison King sets up unforgettable experiences
that motivate people to create art & design

Alison King

alison@pixelpixie.net
www.pixelpixie.net
www.modernphoenix.net

 


Degrees

Masters in Art and Art Education, January 1999
Teachers College, Columbia University

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration, May 1996
Specialization in
Printmaking
Parsons School of Design

Bachelor of Arts in World Art History, May 1996
Eugene Lang College at The New School for Social Research


Design + Education Experience

Associate Professor of Graphic Design
The Art Institute of Phoenix

2000 - Present
Teach college level design courses including:

  • Digital Portfolio
  • Design for Interactive Multimedia
  • Web Page Scripting
  • Design for New Media
  • Digital Grid Systems
  • Fundamentals of Design
  • Fundamentals of Drawing
  • Graphic Symbolism
  • Digital Pre-Press
  • Externship
  • Advanced Image Manipulation
  • Project Preparation
  • Image Manipulation
  • Digital Layout
  • Graphic Design Capstone
  • Independent Study

Founding Editor, ModernPhoenix.net
2003 - Present
Edit, write, photograph and publish the internet's only comprehensive clearinghouse of information about midcentury modern design in Phoenix Arizona. Conduct primary source research and record oral histories. Moderate message boards and do community outreach through workshops and educational events. Organize annual home tour and produce all resulting collateral.

Freelance Journalist
2005 - Present

Design research, reporting, editing and criticism for Modern Phoenix, Desert Living magazine and 944 magazine. Serve as a go-to resource for The Arizona Republic, The East Valley Tribune, The Phoenix New Times and Java Magazine.

Faculty Development Director
The Art Institute of Phoenix
2004 - 2006
Managed the professional development of 100+ faculty at a private design college. Developed and presented New Faculty Training, Learning Centered Education seminars, Book Clubs, Museum Visits, Instructional Methodologies and software-specific seminars. Prepared documentation for accreditation visits. Presented seminars both online and face to face for other professional developers.

Freelance Web Designer
2000 - Present
Develop brand identities and e-marketing campaigns for small businesses and nonprofits in Phoenix, AZ. Services include logo, identity, business sets, web sites, e-blasts, e-marketing, search engine optimization and more.

Senior Curriculum Consultant for Technology and the Arts for Teaching Matters, Inc.
1996 to 2003
Developed content and design for a distance-learning website to support clients of Teaching Matters. Designing and delivering how-to courses for curriculum integration over the internet, using voice-enhanced teleconferencing software. Designing and producing the company publications, including @School Magazine. Developed original integrated arts projects with New York City School teachers. Special assignments included multimedia arts instruction for the Project Arts initiative in Queens and the Lower East Side, and curriculum development for the American Gateways Federal Challenge Grant on Immigration for the Lower East Side and Harlem. Workshops and one-on-one instruction for teachers in all subject areas and all grade levels help educators discover ways that technology and the arts could enhance their own classroom curriculums.Long-term consultations in public schools have included:

  • Manhattan West Art Institute
  • East Harlem School of the Future
  • Gramercy Park The Independence School
  • Tribeca District 27
  • Queens The Joseph Pulitzer School for Telecommunications and Technology, Queens
  • School of Technology and Education in the 21st Century, Lower East Side

Traditional and Digital Art Instructor
1996 to 2003
Taught students both young and old digital art techniques including scanning, digital photography, web publishing, painting and robotic programming. Held a Summer Sketchbooks art camp to help girls develop "artists habits" through sketchbook-keeping. Designed and held a Multimedia Arts Summer Institute at School of the Future to help middle school, high school, and adult students pioneer the development of their own digital art portfolios. Designed and taught a mainstreamed Paper Craft class for 4th and 5th grade students as part of the Brooklyn Friends after school program.

Guest Presenter at New York University Graduate School of Education
1997 and 1998
Presented innovative projects by New York City teachers and students that integrated technology across the curriculum. Invited lectures include "Multimedia Arts in New York City Public Schools" and "Technology in the ESL Classroom: A View from the Trenches". Presentations included hands-on collaborative creation using multimedia authoring software.

Researcher and Editorial Assistant for the Children's Environments Research Group at the City University of New York Graduate School and University Center
1993 - 1996
Researched and edited drafts for Children's Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care by Roger A. Hart. (Earthscan/Unicef). Advised and instructed a team of students age 11 - 18 in the use of high-tech and traditional publishing methods to help them publish their own series of how-to books. Students learned Quark XPress, Adobe Photoshop, scanner, paste-up and editorial illustration techniques. Helped community members in the Bronx and on the Lower East Side design and build natural play gardens for their young children by facilitating participatory design workshops.


Artistic Skills

Digital Arts
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Bridge, Acrobat, Flash, Quark XPress, XHTML, CSS

Traditional Media
Woodcut and linoleum relief printing, silkscreen printing, reduction printing, etching and intaglio, sumi-e ink wash, watercolor


Publications

Wisit www.pixelpixie.net for recent publications in Modern Phonix, Desert Living, Java and 944.


Awards + Honors

The New Times Best of Phoenix Award, 2009
Web Marketing Association Standard of Excellence Award, 2009
AIA Arizona Chapter President's Commendation, 2008
The Art Institute of Phoenix Vanguard Award, 2007
The New Times Best of Phoenix Award, 2006
944 Magazine Platinum Award, 2006


Read writing samples and recommendations